Very sad story to read. I ran aground last year in a very familiar harbor race as I was concentrating on rounding the mark which drifted too close to shore. I was very lucky as I ran up an over a sand-bar and was able to get off quickly on a lee-shore with the time running out quickly.
I know it will happen again as I almost ran up on a reef last summer on a race condition…watched the reef for hours and mis-judged the current and was able to fire up the engines at the last moment. If the engine did not fire up, I would have been hard-aground. I made a skipper error in both situations simply by not being prudent. Learned a lot and swear I will not make the same mistake but I know I will at some point or at least there will be the risk. Again, very sad news. I wish you all the best. James Bibb C&C 34/36R Darwin’s Folly Juneau, AK. > On Jul 16, 2018, at 8:48 AM, schiller via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > wrote: > > I definitely understand and feel your pain. Hopefully all will go well with > the insurance and repairs. > > Good luck. > > Neil Schiller > 1983 C&C 35-3, #028 > "Grace" > Whitehall, Michigan > WLYC > > On 7/16/2018 11:18 AM, David Knecht via CnC-List wrote: >> It is a sad morning here and I need some help to drag me out of my >> depression. This list is my support group, advisers, experts and >> therapists. Or maybe you will kick my butt for being an idiot and that >> could help as well. Aries had a serious grounding on a reef on Saturday and >> is currently awaiting insurance to start assessing the situation. We were >> barely towed off the reef by SeaTow and the boat is on the hard at a local >> marina. The damage is worse than I had hoped and better than it could have >> been. When they were able to pull us off the lip of the reef (tide going >> out, getting desperate) the rudder hit the reef and bent the shaft, damaged >> the hull around the shaft and pushed the rear tip of the rudder up through >> the hull. The bottom of the wing keel is also chewed up from grinding on >> the reef. That sound of hull grinding over rock is now forever seared into >> my brain. South Shore yachts actually lists the rudder on their site >> (thanks to the list for making me aware of their C&C parts), and I am hoping >> there is nothing else damaged that was not obvious. No one was hurt, except >> my pride and confidence. Leaving the marina, I now have an appreciation for >> the emotions of people who abandon their floating homes at sea. At least I >> will hopefully get mine back. >> >> I have gone over the incident a thousand times trying to understand what >> happened and how I could have prevented it. I thought I was hyperaware of >> all the hazards in the Fishers Island Sound area and swore that I would >> never ground the boat again after an incident with an unmarked reef during a >> race a few years ago. I try to race with a priority of safety, fun and >> speed, in that order. I almost always have crew who are not sailors other >> than racing with me, which I enjoy, but takes some of my focus away from >> other things. We had spent the day in a long race all over Fishers Island >> sound. It was blowing 15+ and we had worked very hard to get around the >> course and the last leg was a straight downwind sprint to the finish heading >> due North toward the CT coast. With 3 inexperienced crew I was happy that >> we were in second place in our class and focused on getting to the line. We >> crossed the line, then jibed over to head back west to parallel the coast to >> our home port of New London and had just taken a deep breath, congratulated >> the crew when we hit the reef. It turns out that the Race Committee had set >> the finish line inshore and just East of the single offshore buoy marking >> Horseshoe Reef. I never saw (or recognized) the buoy because it was behind >> the mainsail as we approached the finish and I was looking for the finish >> line, not other buoys. By the time we jibed, it was essentially over my >> shoulder. I did not see the buoy until I looked around when we hit the reef >> and realized where we were. A hundred yards inshore and we would have been >> fine and a hundred yards offshore and we would have seen the buoy and passed >> the correct side of it. I think the Race Committee deserves some part of >> the blame for setting the finish line in a dangerous location but certainly >> my lack of awareness of where I was relative to dangers (of which there are >> many in Fishers Island Sound) was the major factor. If I had looked >> carefully at the chart at any point, I presume I would have recognized the >> danger of the finishing area, but we were closely following the lead boat >> and so our location was not an issue until we finished. I was in familiar >> waters but I just did not recognize precisely where I was in familiar >> waters. The other boats near us turned East while we turned West so we were >> not following anyone after the turn. >> >> If anyone has any suggestions, comments or strategies to help prevent this, >> I am all ears. A moments inattention is all it took and it makes me >> concerned about several factors- age, racing with non-sailor crew, racing in >> general. In our Wednesday night races, we race around the same marks every >> week, and it has taken time, but I now think I know every hazard and am >> aware of where we are relative to them while also keeping on top of the boat >> and crew. This was an area I have sailed in many times but rarely race >> there. Also in terms of the incident itself, if Seatow had not happened to >> be in the area and seen us and we were not able to get the boat off the reef >> until the next high tide, I have no idea what we would have done. I know I >> have learned from other people’s disasters (always the first thing I read >> when a new Sail magazine is delivered), so maybe this will help someone else >> not have this happen or make someone feel better about things that have >> happened to them. >> >> Relevant to the issue of thinking you know where you are when you don’t, if >> you have not read Laurence Gonzales’s book Deep Survival, I highly recommend >> it. He talks a lot about the psychology of visual perception of your local >> environment and how it affects decisions. I think there are lessons there >> for everyone, as many of the things he alerted me to I can see over and over >> in everyday life and this is perhaps another example. >> Dave >> >> Aries >> 1990 C&C 34+ >> New London, CT >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and >> every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use >> PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray >> <https://www.paypal.me/stumurray> >> > > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and > every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use > PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray >
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